Angels of Stardust and Snow
by BecauseHeroesNeverDie
Summary: Requested by Twilight Leopardess. Kairi was a sunshine and sea-shore kind of girl. Cloud reminded her of winter. Perhaps he need a bit of the golden summer sun. -oneshot- *CloKai*


The snow crunched indignantly under her feet, as Kairi ran in pursuit of somebody who would very soon be covered in chill, white powder. She gathered up snow in her hands and formed it with care. It took some time and care to shape something into a proper sphere. As she was not accustomed to the cold weather, her fingers quickly became numb. Kairi's numb hands fumbled with the snow, forming it into a lumpy mass rather than a ball. She smoothed the snow until it could be considered a passable snowball.

She ran, blundering through piles of snow. Scanning the area, Kairi quickly spotted her unfortunate target. The surroundings were wide and flat, snow layered thick upon it like vanilla frosting over a cake. Finding the aforementioned unfortunate target was simple, as he was covered from head to foot in a dark tone of ebony. Boots, pants, coat and scarf. The fact that he chose to cover himself in so much black all the time absolutely mystified her. She had come to the conclusion that he seemed to think it suited him. Whatever the reason, his dark attire stood out from the drab of the white earth and gray-scale sky.

Kairi clutched her weapon, careful not to crush it. She was preparing herself for the attack. She attempted to slink forward in silence, but the snow protested, screaming of her coming. He remained unmoving, his back to her.

She wound her arm back, then snapped it forward, flinging the snowball at him. She giggled playfully, hoping he would react. That was why she'd done that. She wanted him to leave his thoughts once in a while and try to connect to people. He didn't seem to want to talk with or even be around people, but she had her heart set on changing that.

Little by little, Kairi was getting him to talk to her. Every word he said made her heart dance, threaten to pop out or break into a combination of both of these phenomenons. Kairi walked next to him every time she had the chance. She would talk, occasionally poking his arm or doing something ridiculous to get him to talk back, smile, laugh, anything. Sometimes, there would be a major breakthrough. Once he'd laugh,. Twice he'd smiled. He'd spoken five sentences to her, consisting of about ten words in total. Today, however, her heart had found no occasion to celebrate. He hadn't given her so much as a look to acknowledge that he knew of her presence.

"Hey, Cloud! What are you doing?" She inquired. A small giggle escaped her lips. She walked up in front of him, waving a hand in front of his face. Cloud stood as stoic and still as ever, his blue eyes observing the snow covered dip in the earth before him. This caused a deep frown to crease the features of Kairi's normally contented and joyful demeanor. She decided that another whack at it was in order. "Cloooouud? You thheeeeree?"

He didn't say a word. She sighed. If this was anybody but Cloud...

She moved over to his side, so she wouldn't fall into the valley below.

She sneezed. Three in a row. Shivers overtook her body. Kairi was ill-prepared for this weather. Kairi was a sunshine and sea-shore kind of girl. Cold was a term for weather of and under 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The water was icy, but the golden rays of sun made up for this, spreading warmth to the entire body. Cloud reminded her of winter. Perhaps he need a bit of the golden summer sun. She felt that she had an obligation to be the one who pulled back the thick curtains and melted a bit of the ice.

She was unprepared for this weather clothing wise as well. She was wearing her boots, though they were more stylish than functional. She had on a thin, magenta sweater and rose jeans she had borrowed from Yuffie. The clothes had been on the very bottom of the messy mountain that was Yuffie's Clothing Regiment, which consisted of the obvious (clothing) with other general possessions of hers strewn about within and poking out here and there. Kairi had pitied the poor, abandoned and rather pink items of clothing and had taken them on as her charges. She had immediately ran to the bathroom to put them on. Yuffie deemed them well-housed and proclaimed them Kairi's official possessions, to wear and love as much or as little as she desired.

"Acchuu!" She sneezed again, her body giving a great shudder. She hugged her arms, rubbing them for warmth. Kairi took a fast peek at Cloud, only to find that he was looking back at her. Her heart skipped a dozen beats. She quickly redirected her gaze to the pearl gray horizon, attempting to emulate his stiff manner.

Kairi recalled the image she had just seen. It was temporarily superimposed her vision. The image appeared as if a camera had snatched that moment in its frozen parody of life. His mouth was set thoughtfully and his eyes held no flare of emotion. Cloud was a master masquerader.

She sneezed, the image disappearing as her head bobbed downward. She turned her head sharply, catching a glimpse of Cloud without allowing her eyes to linger. Kairi looked back, unable to help herself. His eyes were a chill blue and his light-toned blond hair spiked in an unnatural way that seemed to work just right for him. Cloud had a pale complexion and a thin, yet well-rounded face. With her cold tomato soup hair and abnormal violet eyes, she couldn't help but feel rather ugly as she looked him over. Kairi attempted to cast the thought aside, lapsing back into her spastic shivering.

Cloud appeared to have rolled his eyes, beginning to shrug his coat off his shoulders. He pulled one of Kairi's hands away from its strong grip on her upper arm and proceeded to shove it into the coat's sleeve. He took her other arm, the hand of which was tense, clutching thin air, and repeated his previous action.

"Move a little." Cloud ordered in a low tone, gesturing with his hands for her to turn his way. The drummer in her chest thumped each word into her, melding it to her being. She obeyed immediately, turning so that she could face him. He began buttoning up the coat. Each button snapped loudly as he pressed them together. He brushed snow off one of the shoulders.

"Sorry..." Kairi could feel herself blushing.

"It's not a problem." He gave no indication about whether or not he really meant this. Kairi supposed, that nothing bothered him at all. He snapped the last button together. He reached for his other hand and made to slide off one of his gloves.

"Don't...I'm o....keep your...." She trailed off on each statement. She waved her hands in front of her, refusing his sweet gesture.

"Suit yourself," two more beats added to her rhythm. She had a feeling that he was connecting to her more than usual. She was overjoyed. But, she had to remind herself, Cloud wasn't very predictable. That might have been the last thing he would say to her all day.

She would wait. Friendship had taught her patience. She could wait, but not without acting. Waiting would just never do. If you really wanted something to happen, you had to work at it and then stand back and wait to see what would happen. Set things into motion or go nowhere at all.

He turned around and resumed his staring into the gray oblivion that acted as the sky. Cloud hadn't spared her another glance. She wondered what he saw when he stared at the sky like that. Kairi's hand reached out and words were on her lips, but she abruptly cut herself off. If she pushed too hard, she'd only find herself further isolated form him. Better the cold shoulder than nothing at all.

Kairi twirled around and began to sprint away from the cliff. She tried to push herself to the point when all thought becomes impossible, cares and troubles blurring away in speed and exhaustion. She failed to reach such a point. There was a hot wetness about her face as she flung herself into the bitter wind. She slipped on the snow, white powder flying in random directions as she hit the ground. Her escape from the brutal reality was cut short. She might as well allow herself to think it, let it soak in. He didn't care.

Her fingers clung to the buttons of the coat, readying to pull them apart. This was never delved into as she soon found she couldn't pull a single button apart. She wanted to believe he cared and the coat was the only testimony to her desperate wish.

Kairi sulked in the snow. She laid herself flat out upon the ground and stared up at the unchanging sky.

She couldn't break down this easily, she chastised herself. This was no way to get anything done. If she was going to give up so easily, what was the point in trying?

A series of soft, crunching sounds resounded from the ice-encrusted snow. The footsteps were quickly approaching her. Kairi forced a false smile across her lips. Her arms and legs spread across the surface of the snow she'd sunken herself into.

"Hi!" Kairi called, letting out a cheerful giggle that failed to reach her heart. The footsteps advanced, growing ever closer. Her call was not answered. The indignant outcrying of the snow under foot was dismissed as an insufficient reply.

A black-clad hand appeared before her, offering help. She took it without hesitation, grasping the hand tightly. Cloud pulled her up. Kairi looked up at his face, finding the expressionless blue waters and the straight-set mouth that held together his stoic masquerade.

She saw her hand clasped to his in front of her. She blushed a shade of bright scarlett, then pulled her hand away. He started walking at a brisk pace and she followed after him, quickly matching his long, swift stride.

They walked like this for quite a bit. The two wandered around the town. The buildings were of a sandy-colored stone, many of them shops. Overhead, the sky shifted from a dismal pearl-gray to a vibrant blue, stark against the white and tan.

Kairi saw this, but didn't take it in. She couldn't, as her mind was occupied. She'd seen Cloud smile. He had simply stopped and stared up at the color sinking into the sky. Then, just out of the blue, he smiled. There was no rhyme or reason to it. He'd just smiled.

The blue skies, bursting with mid-afternoon glory, were fleeting. The heavens descended into darkness rapidly, light making a daring reappearance as tiny pinpricks known as stars. It wasn't a warm light, but, rather, a guiding one. Like angels in the sky showing them that everything was okay, even in this false darkness. He strode ahead of her, taking the lead. She followed in silence until they'd reached the cliffs.

"Ohhh..." Kairi marveled, rendered nearly speechless by the thousands of shards of dazzling light shimmering above. She'd never seen the stars in such sharp clarity before. They had always been blended to a softer tone with the colors of summer and the sweet scent of the air, alive with plant life. She felt chilled to the depths of her bones. She supposed that the cold must be felt to glance upon the brightest stars. Kairi watched, mesmerized, as she stood at his side. "Ohhh..." She cooed again, still under the enchantment the stars had placed her in.

This winter stuff was actually very beautiful, she thought, watching the snow bathe in the moonlight. It sparkled in the most gorgeous fashion. A feeling of contentment rose in her. The sunshine girl had fallen in love with winter. It had a complex beauty to it, icy and regal. It wasn't dead, it was alive in a way you had to look at to see. Everything was asleep or half awake, trying to heal itself and flower into spring's glory. Winter had its own glory, as well. A frozen brilliance, hard to appreciate, or ever love.

"You have a very light presence..." Cloud informed her quietly. He looked at her, then away. "It's nice."

She smiled and bravely took Cloud's hand. And, to her surprise, he didn't let go.


End file.
